The Division of Rheumatology is comprised of faculty with varied backgrounds and experiences who contribute to the clinical care, research and educational mission at WashU Medicine.
The division was previously led by John Atkinson, MD (1976-1992 and 2008-2017), Wayne Yokoyama, MD (1995-2007), and Deborah Lenschow, MD, PhD (Interim 2017-2018). Christine Pham, MD assumed the position of division chief on October 1, 2018.
The division has 6 full-time NIH-funded physician-scientists who work in a highly collaborative environment to enable innovative research to advance knowledge and improve healthcare for patients suffering from various rheumatologic diseases. To facilitate these endeavors the division successfully competed for a Rheumatic Diseases Research Resource-based Center (RDRRC) NIH P30 award, which began September 1, 2018 under the co-direction of Drs. Pham and Lenschow. In addition to expanding translational research, several faculty members have established specialized clinics to meet the challenges posed by the emerging rheumatic diseases as well as complex autoimmune conditions such as lupus and vasculitis.
Eirini Kefalogianni, PhD
Assistant Professor of Medicine
Research Interests: The role of cytokines and growth factors that regulate kidney injury, repair and fibrosis
Graduate School: University of Athens School of Biology, Athens, Greece (2002-2007)
Postdoctoral Research Fellow: New York University School of Medicine, Department of Pediatric Cardiology, New York, New York (2008-2011)
Postdoctoral Research Fellow: Harvard Medical School, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Department of Medicine, Renal Division, Boston, Massachusetts (2012-2016)
Visiting Fellow: Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Department of Biological Engineering, Boston, Massachusetts (2012-2016)
Alfred Kim, MD, PhD
Associate Professor of Medicine
Research Interests: Lupus translational research, B cell biology
Medical School: Drexel University College of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (2005)
Residency: Internal Medicine, Barnes-Jewish Hospital, St. Louis, Missouri (2007)
Fellowship: Rheumatology, Washington University School of Medicine (2010)
Iris Lee, MD
Instructor in Medicine
Medical School: Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri
Residency: BJH/ Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri
Fellowship: Rheumatology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri (2018-2021)
Deborah J Lenschow, MD, PhD
Professor of Medicine, John S. Daniels Professor in Immunology
Research Interests: Chikungunya viral arthritis, interferons, autoimmunity
Medical School: University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois (1998)
Residency: Internal Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri (2000)
Fellowship: Rheumatology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri (2003)
M. Kathryn Liszewski
Assistant Professor of Medicine
Michael Paley, MD, PhD
Assistant Professor of Medicine
Research Interests: Uveitis, scleritis, T-cell biology
Graduate School: PhD, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (2012)
Medical School: University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia Pennsylvania, Medical Scientist Training Program (2014)
Residency: BJH/Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis Missouri (2016)
Fellowship: Rheumatology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri (2017-2019)